KUALA LUMPUR: Double champions Terengganu are not pushing the panic button yet despite losing their opening Premier Division match in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).
The east coast side, winners of the league and overall championship last season, were whipped 6-2 by Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Sunday.
But they will look to bounce back in the upcoming matches - against Maybank on Friday and Tenaga Nasional on Sunday.
“Now, we need to get back on our feet. We need to work harder to rectify our game,” said Terengganu team manager Roshali Taha.
“Our next match against Maybank is crucial as we need to win full points to get back on track,” he added.
With five South Korean imports, Terengganu were a class above the rest last season. But this year, they opted to use four Argentinians and one Pakistani. And with six Malaysian internationals in their ranks, one would have expected them to be a top-notch side.
Roshali said they knew it would be a tough opener, but did not expect to lose by such a big margin.
“The team were assembled just a few days before the start of the MHL. It’s obvious the foreigners have yet to gel with the local players.
Last year, Terengganu also started on a losing note. They were beaten 2-1 by Tenaga.
KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj, however, believes things will get tougher as the league progresses.
“I don’t think any team of the six teams in the league can win all the matches. They are all evenly-matched at the moment,” said Dharmaraj.
“It’s going to be a close affair until the end of the league,” added Dharmaraj.
KLHC were runners-up in the league and overall championship last year, losing both titles to Terengganu. They now plan to win at least one of the titles this season.
“We have a balanced team and we can build on this winning start. But we are not going to be carried away by the opening win.”
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